Smouldering Flames
by Minu Dooey
Summary: Edward Elric threw a stone in the water, teeth clenched. He watched the ripples spread across the surface, distorting reflections of the park.
1. Stormclouds

The pond's surface shimmered with the rare glimpse of the setting sun; Stormy grey clouds had hidden it the entire day, and only now could one see the beauty of the sunset. What little bit of sky that was visible glowed vibrant purples and faded to midnight blue, and a lone star shone in the sky. 

Edward Elric threw a stone in the water, teeth clenched. He watched the ripples spread across the surface, distorting reflections of the park. With his knees hugged to his chest, the teenager could've easily been mistaken as a young boy.

Like he cared right now. He was pissed. His head pounded, he couldn't breath through his nose, and to top it all off, he had absolutely no focus on anything.

Except the fight.

He couldn't shake it from his mind, much to his dismay. He didn't even remember what the fight was about, only that Al was pissed at him, and _he_ had stormed off for once. And now, the last thing he wanted was to go back and have to apologize. So he had decided not to.

Sighing, Ed held his automail to his forehead. The coolness felt good; Even though his coat was laying on the grass next to him, and the night breeze was coming in, he was steaming hot. It annoyed him more than anything that he couldn't cool down, and he considered dunking his head into the pond a number of times.

Thunder rumbled off in the distance. Ed frowned and rubbed his temples briefly before standing up. After picking up his coat, he began to walk back to the hotel, then froze. No... It would be murder to go back (Especially since he was fully aware that it wouldn't take much effort for his brother to actually murder him). That, and hotels were always hot and stuffy.

He could always sleep on a bench for the night... It wasn't that bad, to be honest. But, he'd have to find a place soon, or he would end up wandering around in the dark. Which wouldn't have been hard, if it weren't for the throbbing in his head growing worse by the minute.

A rain drop landed on his head. He laughed dryly. Could his luck get any worse? Ed trudged over to a bench and sat down, wrapping his coat around him. It had suddenly gotten cold. Must've been the storm coming in.

His vision swarmed, causing him to shake his head. Cringing at the sudden pain, Ed forced his eyes closed until the feeling passed.

Caught in a storm and sick. Great. Another raindrop fell, and another. He stood and lurched forward, landing with his nose inches from the ground. How could he be so off balance? Cursing, he pushed himself to his feet.

He had to find shelter before the storm got worse.

Still light headed, Ed searched for shelter. It soon became apparant this wasn't going to be a light shower; The rain was picking up, and he figured he had five minutes before it got bad.

He miscalculated.

Before he had even left the park, his coat was soaked through, and his bangs clung to his cheeks. Shit, this was bad. Actually, this night was turning into a disaster. Extremely quickly.

Lighting lit up the sky, thunder rolling behind. Grimly, he realized just how dangerous it was for him to be out here.

Alone.

In a thunderstorm.

He was a sick, walking electricity magnet. And only getting sicker.

Ed bit his lip and looked around. The rain continued to pour, further soaking him. This wasn't good. It ran down his forehead and off his nose. He was having trouble seeing infront of him (Though that could have been from his hazy vision) and what he could see ahead was only worse.

Shit.

Ed took off at a blind run, thinking that maybe, if he ran enough, he could pass the storm. He slipped on the wet stone and fell face first to the ground. Shit, that hurt. A lot. Standing shakily, he was only dimly aware of the blood on his forehead. All he could tell was that his head hurt even worse, it was getting hard and harder to see, and he felt like collapsing where he was.

But he forced himself to trek on. He didn't want to stay in the rain, and he was convinced he could find somewhere that was still open. What he didn't notice was that he had wandered into a part of Central that he was unfamiliar with—He was lost.

Thunder boomed again. He cackled. "You think you're gonna beat me?! You think a little storm can take me down? Ha!" At this, he broke off laughing, the eerie, detached laughs of a maniac. Or, in this case, a sick teenager.

His boots sprayed water with each step, and twice more he had slipped, but managed to catch himself. The second time, his hand gave under the weight and he felt something overstretch painfully. So much for writing that letter to Winry—He doubted he would still be able to use his automail for writing after so many years.

Somehow, even in the pounding rain, he kept going. At least, until the entire world began to spin around him. He swayed momentarily before collapsing against a building, a weak laugh escaping his lips. Eyelids drooping closed, Ed didn't make an effort to look up when he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"Fullmetal? Fullmetal, are you okay?"

* * *

I'm a sucker for cutting things off at times like this. To sort of, explain some things, this is partially inspired by something that happened to me recently. I ended up walking home from school in the rain, with tornado sirens going off. Granted, I didn't get sick because it's not a long walk, but I did wonder what would happen if I were sick. I really... _had _to get this chapter done. It was bothering me for so long, and I have a research paper draft due on Monday, and only just wrote part of the intro today. So, I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up... I also apologize for any glaring mistakes, it's late at night, and I have a headache from reading at my desk. P Reviews are welcome, hope you enjoyed it so far! 


	2. Interrogation

Ed woke to the sound of silverware clanging to the floor. He winced at the shrillness of the noise—It made his head hurt even more. Gingerly, he opened his eyes, glad that for once, he hadn't woken up to find himself in a hospital. That happened a lot. But... where was he? He sighed and closed his eyes again. Whoever found him had some sense in their mind; He could tell that his wrist was wrapped (Perhaps a bit tightly, as he couldn't feel his fingers very well, but it was better than nothing) and there was a cold compress on his head. He still felt like crap, however. 

The question was still on his mind. He didn't recognize the place, though he did have to admit their couch was quite comfy (Especially with that blanket, which was surprisingly warm). He was also surprised to find himself in dry clothing, albeit a bit loose on him. He'd choose that over rain soaked clothes any day.

Sighing, the teenager let his thoughts wander. He tried to remember what had happened that past night. He had fought with Al and ran off sick, then got caught in the rain... He remembered tripping, but after that, things started to blur together. Had he passed out before someone found him? How long had it taken for someone to notice him? Why had him and Al fought, anyways?

"Sorry Fullmetal, I didn't know you were awake."

Ed laid there for a moment before realizing who's voice it was. His stomach turned—Of all people, why _him_?! He would've rather been left out in the rain! Maybe he could make a run for it... Ha, right. That looked interesting in his mind, trying to run when the sound of a fork dropping was enough to send bursts of pain through his head. He'd probably run face first into a wall. Groaning, Ed glared at his superior, who seemed to be taunting him with the sight of half eaten pancakes.

"Why the hell am I here?!" He snapped, flinching suddenly. Yelling hurt.

Roy sighed.

"That's some way to talk to the person who saved your ass."

Ed frowned and pulled the blanket over his head with one hand. "Fine, fine... Why am I here, Colonel Bastard?" Sick or not, he wasn't going to be polite.

Roy set the pancakes aside and walked over to Ed, pulling the blanket down from his face. Ed's frown grew—The damn bastard just wanted to glare down at him!

"Because I found you, completely soaked, slumped against a building like you were dead, in the middle of a thunderstorm. You expected me to leave you there to die? Does Al even know where you were going? What were you thinking going out by yourself anyway, Fullmetal?"

Ed groaned, starting to wish that he _had_ been left out to die. "Don't call me Fullmetal, you're not even on duty." He pointed out.

"I'll stop calling you Fullmetal if you be polite."

After some thought, Ed sighed, "Fine."

"Now, what were you doing out in the rain by yourself, Ed?" Roy repeated, raising a brow.

Ed shifted uneasily and pulled the blanket around him. His stomach was churning, and he wasn't sure if it was the sickness, his thoughts drifting to the fight with Al, or how annoying Roy was getting.

He decided to blame Roy, get some time to rest, and change the subject all at once.

"Would it be polite if I told you I feel like puking?" Ed asked.

Roy stared at him for a moment. "You're serious?"

"Yes."

Without another word, Roy stood up and rummaged under the sink. He pulled out a bucket, then came back and placed it by Ed. "At least try to make it to the bathroom, _you'll_ have an easier time cleaning up tile than carpet." This comment alone infuriated Ed, and he found himself biting his tongue. Roy continued,

"Do I have to repeat the question again?"

"Leave me alone, I'm tired." Ed mumbled, curling up. Roy wasn't convinced, and narrowed his eyes.

"I won't leave until you answer."

Ed stared at him and sighed. Right now, he just wanted to sleep. Maybe if he just ignored him... It was worth a shot. Ed closed his eyes and tried to look like he had fallen asleep; Roy cleared his throat.

"Fine, fine..." Ed turned his attention to the ground. Should he tell Roy? He didn't really have a choice if he wanted to sleep. And he was actually tired... "Me and Al got into a fight... Okay? So I went to the park, because I didn't want to stay at the hotel. That's all. Now let me sleep."

Roy sighed. "That's all? I don't think you've ever been this mad at him."

"I haven't. ...Can I sleep yet, or are you going to keep interrogating me like I'm a convict?"

"You brought it on to yourself, Ed. If you went inside when it started raining, I wouldn't be asking you questions now."

Ed frowned. With that sort of logic, you could place the blame on nearly anything. And again, Roy kept asking questions,

"Did you trip, by any chance? Your wrist looks pretty swollen..."

"I fell. I think more than once, because the only time I remember tripping, I hit my head. Seriously, let me get some sleep, ever heard of letting sick people get their rest?"

Roy stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm guessing you don't have the number to the hotel, hmm?"

"Don't even have the key. Good night." He said, turning to face the back of the couch.

Roy didn't bother mentioning that it was half past three.

"Good night."

* * *

Ah, I chose to write this instead of work on my research paper, what lovely choices I make. -chuckle- In my head during science class, I think I had some sort of amusing short joke in there, but I was honestly half asleep (Half an hour of doing nothing after a test means sleep for me) and it was gone by the end of the day. I'm not sure if you folk haven't noticed yet, but this isn't meant to be, uhm, RoyEd. ' I realize that half of you who've read this clicked because you were looking under Roy and Ed, and saw that the title had to do with fire. The title will be explained later. I mean, you can take this as a RoyEd fic if you _really _want to, but that's not what I intended.

I'm not all that pleased with the writing in this. Meh, it'll just be a reminder to try something different next chapter... Which may not come as quickly. -laugh- 4 days left of school, tests and finals and papers and so much homework to make up... I spend a good while typing these because my focus comes and goes, so I'll drop off mid sentence and come back wondering what I was trying to type. Hope you enjoyed the chapter nonetheless, I'd appreciate reviews


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